Como se dice, I’m not that depressed?

Ok, so things have turned around completely since my last post. I think I was just really overwhelmed with, well, everything, but now I feel like I really love what’s going on here in Sevilla. Everyone tells me I just need some time, and I know I’m not the only one who feels like this. I think my big issue now is money…I need to find some way to generate more income because I’ve already spent a lot of what I’ve saved just on rent and getting necessary things for day-to-day life. That doesn’t include my new cafe con leche habit, the shopping I do on Calle Sierpes when I’m bored and beer that I actually pay for (I’ll clue you in later…). I greatly appreciate the support from mama and dada, Nikki, Twin, Flip and Helen. your kind words and willingness to let me vent made me feel a million times better!!!

I’ve found some leads for things to do with my time, and I think this semester I may try and work at a bar if I can’t find anything else to do. Money is money, and if I save now, I can pay later. Kelly has convinced me to do all kinds of promotional stuff for Cafe Abroad, so we’ve been busy trying to plan a launch party in addition to actually writing the city guide! Hmm. On Wednesday I just had a few classes, but I stayed at school for extra time to help plan some sort of Halloween activity (too bad the only costumes I can find here are super slutty). I am trying to figure out a way to make pumpkin pie, but it’s difficult to find canned pumpkin and cook without an oven. I also had a cafe abroad meeting, which mostly consisted of me and Kelly wondering where the other two girls were, marveling with the grape juice Jose found for her, and trying to figure out how we can get CA to pay for us to make 20 shirts for beer pong night at Fundicion.

Thurs: Went to four hours of class, made fliers for CA, walked all around the city applying for jobs with Melissa and making her speak in Spanish to me. I decided to meet Lindsay and Kelly at David’s apartment for drinks before I got dragged to Buddha. It was overrun with Erasmus and American students, but I had a great time and finally met Spaniards. The next day I work I had on the struggle face…

Fri: worked, cleaned the apt and made lunch for Melissa, ran errands with Eva (aka went to the Bazaar and Dia), finished my lesson planning and fell asleep before Kamal called back.

Sat: Walked around town with Eva from 1030-1. Walked around the town and Feria de las Naciones with Kelly from 1-5. Met Laura, Aly Rapoport’s cousin who is an auxiliar, and grabbed a few drinks before heading to Alameda to go out with her friends. I talked with her for three hours in English, which she said was the most she’d spoken since she’d been back in Sevilla. This made it difficult for me to get to know her friends until I’d had a few beers, most of which I didnt’ pay for because her friends were really nice or we just left without paying. Alameda is a great area, and the people were great, and the tapas we got were great, too. Laura knows all about the city, so she pointed a lot of places out to me. I made myself go home at 4am because I am lame.

Sun: One of my coworkers invited me to the horserace at Pineda, a country club at the southern end of the city. Rafa is quite older than me, so I took Eva along just in case. Rafa paid for us to get in and watch all the well-to-do bet on horses and watch the races. It was a lot of fun, and quite an experience. I loved watching all the little kids dressed up just as much as the race. Rafa helped me with my Spanish in exchange for coming with him, as he is unmarried. In addition, we met a woman from New York who is a proprietor here in Meijas, just near Malaga. She told me about how she came here for a vacation and has stayed for ten years. Perhaps me? Her horse won the race, too. Be jealous, mom.

I’m gradually starting to feel more integrated into this city. I don’t need to take a map with me everywhere, I know where the best deals are for food, internet, bus tickets. I know which way to look when I cross the street. I found a really fantastic gym close to my house with tanning, pool use and classes included (which is good, considering how much nutella I’ve been eating this week!). Soon I will have too many things going on to even plan lessons thoroughly, says Silvia! I don’t know what my outburst was for the other day. I expected to have a little meltdown, and now it’s over with. I’m already considering staying here another year, and probably staying at Heliche. We’ll see how things go..

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As a beef-loving Chicago girl living amongst pigs, bullfighters, and a whole lotta canis, Cat Gaa writes about expat life in Seville, Spain. When not cavorting with adorable Spanish grandpas or struggling with Spanish prepositions, she works in higher education at an American university in Madrid and freelances with other publications, like Rough Guides and The Spain Scoop.

Hola, soy Cat.

I'm a Chicago girl who turned down a job in radio and turned up in Seville, Spain. Especially akin to tapas, siestas and frilly flamenco dresses. S&S is my virtual love letter to Southern Spain. [Más …]